SmallBizResource Blog -- Marketing

Takeaways From the Women Who Tech TeleSummit, Part 1

Posted by Gayle Kesten Monday, Apr 7, 2008, 02:33 PM ET

I had the opportunity to dial into a pair of thought-provoking panel sessions during last week's Women Who Tech TeleSummit -- a day's worth of phone conferences whose net proceeds were destined for the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund.

The idea behind Women Who Tech (which I wrote about last month) was "to create a supportive network for the vibrant and thriving community of women in technology professions by giving them an open platform to share their talents, experiences and insights." From where I sat -- my living room table -- the event was a win-win for those who participated and for those who will benefit from the resulting cancer research.

Following are a few highlights from the first session I listened to; I'll fill you in on the second session later this week. BTW, it's worth your time to check out the businesses the panelists represent.

Tooting Your Own Horn
[Moderated by Angie Chang, co-founder of Women2.org; panelists were Megan Fitzgerald, entrepreneurial coach and founder of Career By Choice; and Lynne d Johnson, senior editor and blogger for Fast Company senior editor.]

Megan's main message was about personal branding -- uncovering, not creating, "your unique promise of value" -- and being true to who you are to get what you want. "Personal brands are authentic, about really understanding your strengths and passions," she said. Megan broke down the process of personal branding into three phases: extract, where you clarify your value; express, where you get a consistent message out; and exude, where you expand the power of your brand in everything you do and through your network. "For those of us who hate to toot our horns, doing it through others is a great way," she said.

You know me, not a big fan of vanilla advice. That's why I liked listening to Megan. The whole notion of uncovering our value indicates that something great already exists within each of us. The challenge, of course, is knowing what that is.

Megan also spoke about branding yourself online. To see how well your online efforts have been, she directed listeners to an online identity calculator that determines whether your brand is distinct or disastrous. (It took all of three minutes; I fell smack between the two extremes.) She's also a big advocate of blogging, saying it's the "best way to communicate thought leadership and expertise in the community in which you want to stand out."

Onto Lynne, who began blogging before the term blog was even in use. She was unemployed at the time and began posting what she called an online diary. (This caught my attention because last summer I did the same thing for the same reason.) Her advice about tooting your own horn focused on search-engine optimization to help others not only find you, but to link to you -- thereby elevating your name in Google searches. "If someone blogs about you, go back and leave a comment," she said. "It's a nice gesture, and it helps with SEO."

Another tip, which I followed while cradling the phone to my shoulder: setting up Google Alerts, including one on your own name, to help better track content you'd want to weigh in on. Finally, Lynne said not to worry if you think something you have to say may have been said before -- a real obstacle for over-thinking women. "Anyone can add a unique voice in their unique flavor to any topic out there," she said. "Especially if you're a woman, you're going to provide a different perspective…If it fits true to the identity you want to create, do it."

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